ESG Investment Officer - San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (0922) (0131727)

  • Full-time
  • Work Hours: Regular
  • Job Code and Title: 0922-Manager I
  • Fill Type: Permanent Exempt

Company Description

Amended to retitle the position and extend the filing period. Candidates who have already submitted an application do not need to re-apply.

The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System ("SFERS") offers an exceptional opportunity for the right candidates to serve this historic, well-established City Department by engaging in interesting and rewarding mission-critical work. Established in 1889 as a fund for families and orphans of firefighters and police officers, today the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System serves more than 75,000 active, vested, and retired employees of the City and County of San Francisco and their survivors.

Our Mission

The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System is dedicated to securing, protecting, and prudently investing the pension trust assets, administering mandated benefits programs, and providing promised benefits to the active and retired members of the City and County of San Francisco.

Specific information regarding this recruitment process is listed below:

  • Application Opening: February 15, 2023
  • Application Deadline: Open Until Filled 
  • Salary: $125,242 - $159,926 (Range A, effective 7/1/23)                       
  • Recruitment ID: RTF0131726-01128745         

This job announcement will not close before August 14, 2023. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

***This recruitment has been reopened on June 30, 2023 to broaden the applicant pool. Applicants who applied prior to June 2023 do NOT need to reapply and will be included in the applicant pool.***

Appointment Type

This permanent exempt position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service Examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.

Job Description

The Investment Officer of ESG Investing (“ESG IO”) assists in the management of SFERS’ Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) programs under direction of the Director of ESG Investing. The ESG IO is responsible for the following and will keep senior investment staff informed on the relevant issues:

  • Assists in analyzing ESG risks and opportunities that may affect the SFERS portfolio.
  • Prepares reports on emerging ESG-related regulation, public policy, and other trends in the market related to ESG investing.
  • Performs regular ESG due diligence on existing and prospective investment managers.
  • Provides ESG analysis and written reports to support investment recommendations and performance reports.
  • Assists in securing relevant quantitative data and information on ESG subject matter, including Climate Change.
  • Assists in executing proxy votes according to voting guidelines.
  • Assists in periodic assessment and reporting of cross organizational ESG activities, including annual Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) reporting.
  • Takes direction from senior investment staff and completes assigned tasks accurately and on time.
  • Responsible for representing SFERS with distinction and class to external investment managers and other stakeholders.

Qualifications

  1. Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in finance, economics, business administration, accounting, statistics, or similar field; AND
  2. Three (3) years of investment experience with an investment management firm, pension plan, university, endowment, foundation, corporation, family office, or consulting firm.

Substitution

  • Possession of a graduate degree in Business Administration, Finance, Statistics, Investment Management, Economics or similar field or possession of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation may be substituted for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.
  • Two (2) years of investment management experience at a position equivalent to an Investment Officer or higher with an investment management firm, pension plan, university, endowment, foundation, corporation, family office, consulting firm or other investment institution with at least $1 billion in assets, or seven years of such responsibility at a firm of any size, may substituted for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.

Desirable Qualifications:

  • Knowledge and prior experience with ESG Investing, specifically conducting fundamental ESG research and/or evaluating ESG performance of external investment managers in public equity, fixed income, and/or private market strategies.
  • Experience in understanding sophisticated ESG investment strategies and concepts, such as sustainable or impact investing approach across a range of asset classes.
  • Expertise in ESG data systems such as MSCI ESG Manager, Sustainalytics Global Access, Glass Lewis ViewPoint, and others.
  • Prior experience in corporate governance including proxy voting and engaging companies on ESG matters.
  • Subject matter expertise in climate change as it relates to investment management.
  • Strong organizational and analytical skills with a demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
  • Experience with Evestment, Caissa, Style Analytics, StyleAdvisor, and Bloomberg Terminal.
  • Strong writing and presentation skills with a genuine interest in the subject matter.
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal).
  • Excellent attention to detail and committed to delivering the highest quality work.
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and under the pressure of tight deadlines.
  • Ability to effectively prioritize and handle multiple, time-sensitive tasks.
  • Highly self-motivated and hardworking with an ability to work and think independently as well as in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.
  • High level of professionalism and with an ability to build networks and positive working relationships with key internal and external contacts.
  • Sound judgment, integrity, and personal values.

The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

Verification

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training, and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. 

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification, or may lead to lower scores.

Additional Information

HOW TO APPLY

All applicants must submit a resume and completed job application (all sections, including Experience and Education, must be completed) in order to be considered. Resumes will not be taken as a substitute for completing the application. 

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process.

Visit careers.sf.gov and begin the application process.

  • Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the recruitment analyst, Karen Perez, at [email protected].   

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.

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